After starting the series with two road wins, the New Orleans Pelicans moved one game closer to the second round of the 2018 National Basketball Association playoffs with a 119-102 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3 on Thursday night at the Smoothie King Center. This will be mid-afternoon start time of 4 pm central time.

The Pelicans made plenty of shots all game long, hitting 52.9 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from 3-point range. By the end of the third, Portland trailed, 70-91.

New Orleans took a stranglehold on its first-round Western Conference playoff series, grabbing a 3-0 lead, with a chance to polish off the first sweep in franchise history when the teams tip off Game 4 at p.m. Saturday.

Game 1 saw a monster game from Anthony Davis. Davis leads in rebounds with 13.5 while Rondo tops in assists with 13.0. The dominating center was a one man wrecking crew on the inside, willing the Pelicans to a 97-95 victory.

Nikola Mirotic, acquired in a midseason trade from the Chicago Bulls, led the Pelicans with 30 points and added 8 rebounds.

INJURY UPDATE: Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic was limited to only 15 minutes in Game 2 because of a left leg contusion, while forward Evan Turner is questionable with a right toe contusion. The Pelicans won that contest, 111-102. Warriors point guard Stephen Curry is traveling with the team but will not play in the opening round of the playoff as he continues to rehabilitate a sprained knee. However, all but one player who saw minutes for the Blazers scored.

He was 0 for six from the floor with zero points before coming out of the game.

Mickey Mantle card sells for near-record $2.88 million
The top price for the card was $240,000 by 2007 and the card's previous record was set in 2016, when it sold for $1.13 million. Former NFL offensive lineman Evan Mathis turned out to be the seller. #1 is $3.12 million paid for a T206 Honus.

The Trail Blazers had no response to the epic attacking flair of Davis and the Pelicans last night, but they'll need to find one this Saturday if they want to keep their playoff dreams alive.

On the other side, only five Portland players got on the board in the first half. And I think that's the position they've put me in.

Damian Lillard - Of course, a lot will still depend on what Dame can provide. Although, they did have other members step up.

Despite his strong play all season, Holiday has mainly flew under the radar this year due in large part to Davis' nightly MVP-like performances. Also, if the Blazers are forced to start double teaming Davis inside, look for lanes to open up for Holiday to drive to the rim.

Any team headed to their opponent's court down 2-0 knows they are facing an uphill battle. No matter who takes it, you know it's a shot you work on in practice or pregame. Anything can happen for any team, especially a quality team like the Trail Blazers, but it would be hard to bet against a team headed home having just taken games 1 and 2 on the road.

Texas unemployment rate for March holds steady at 4 percent
The Wichita area jobless rate was 3.9 percent in March. down from 4.1 percent in February and 4.2 percent in March of 2017. The local unemployment rate held steady in March while the state rate dropped slightly compared with a year ago.

Public viewing of Barbara Bush begins
The gated plot is in an area surrounded by trees and near a creek where the couple's 3-year-old daughter, Robin, is buried. In the letter sent to Fresno State President Joseph Castro, FIRE criticized Castro for his response to the controversy.

Mets Won't Commit To Matt Harvey's Next Start
Harvey this month has averaged 93 miles per hour on his four-seamer, the lowest fastball velocity in any month in his career. When asked about the possibility of being dropped from the starting rotation, Harvey said, "I'm a starting pitcher".

Everton fans' survey a PR disaster, complains Allardyce
Allardyce took over after Ronald Koeman was sacked for a poor start to the season that saw Everton near the relegation zone. Speaking to the media on Thursday ahead of Everton's clash with Newcastle on Monday (Watch live, 3 p.m.

Saquon Barkley's agents don't want him going to Browns
At his press conference on Thursday, Gettleman answered questions about all of the possibilities without revealing his intentions. If you have, I'd like to see the report because all three seem to be consensus home runs. "Barkley never considered the option".

Infinity War Final Fight Is Huge
One of his weapons of choice was a sceptre given to him by Thanos which he used to control the minds of Hawkeye and Erik Selvig. Sam Wilson has been off the grid with Captain America and Black Widow since the events of Captain America: Civil War .

Trump Puts Syria on Notice
McKenzie said 105 US and allied missiles were fired, of which 66 were Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from aboard three US Navy ships and one Navy submarine.

Avicii, famous artist and DJ, dies at 28
On August 28 2016, Bergling performed his final live performance in Ibiza, before retiring from touring, citing health concerns. Avicii had suffered from very public health problems throughout the years, including acute pancreatitis.

Hughes admits it's nearly time for gung-ho Saints
Southampton manager Mark Hughes speaking to BBC Sport: "We hoped to get more out of the game and we had a couple of chances". It made sense for Southampton to start with just one man up front and try to stay in the game in the first half .